Twice Born
by Iset Black
Summary: Not much is known of what life was like in the Moon Kingdom during Queen Serenity's reign, or what her kingdom's final days where like. The past resurfaces in the most unlikely of ways... USAxMAM /Creationist Trilogy, Book 2/


Twice Born  
By Yuri Ishtar

Chapter One: Regina Selena II

* * *

The parchment was smooth underhand as she spread the leaflet of parchment open, it's papyrus and cotton mixture somewhat rough upon the delicate skin of her pale hands. Tendrils of her blue-black hair fell in waves down her back, some errant strands fighting their way over her shoulder and into her face as she bent forward and began to scrawl Macedonian onto the parchment.

Alexandra Luna, handmaiden and advisor to the queen, sighed somewhat sadly as she continued to write. Her hand flew gracefully over the pale yellow paper, the ink-dipped quill leaving various cartouches and curling symbols in it's wake.

* * *

_13 Maius, Primus Tytali (Year 85)_

_Her Majesty Athanasia Serenity's Letter to His Majesty Aemilianus Bel-Sarra-Usur of Macedonia_

_In the name of Selene, the most Merciful, the Compassionate_

_I send my greetings to you personally, with a light heart and a joyful soul. This union between my daughter, the Imperial Princess Regina Selena II, and His Majesty is met with nothing but happiness, high spirits, and peace of mind. _

_This union with not only benefit your kingdom, but will also solidify the Lunar-Terran Pact further. _

_With my daughter I will send 10,000 Soldiers, 5,000 Marksmen, and 2,000 Sailors to substantiate the fleets of Dion and Phila. I will also send my head advisor, Lady Alexandra Luna, to keep a watchful eye over my beloved Serenity. _

_My dear Serenity will make a fine queen. _

_I include my deepest respect to your Lady, the Maid Gaiane of Lower Egypt. May she give you many more healthy children._

_May the Goddess bless this union, bathed in moonlight and under the stars. _

_Her Majesty Queen Athanasia Serenity_

_

* * *

_

With a final flourish, Luna placed the feathered quill back into the inkwell, drew in a breath, and gently blew upon the parchment. Her lips curved downwards in a frown, she folded the letter in an expert way and placed it upon the solid surface of the writing desk and reached for a red sealing candle. With a quick swipe of her hand, Luna lit the wick of the candle and let it drip below onto her newly finished letter; quick to pick her mistress's seal, she pressed the Queen's symbol down into the wax.

"Is it done?" A heavy female voice fell over her in sad waves, it's source the back of the dimly-lit room. Luna slid the freshly-sealed letter from the desk and into her hand.

"Yes, my lady." She bowed her head in respect, the same frown present as when she had taken to writing the letter before. Luna handed the Queen the letter, her heart stopping in her chest as Serenity took hold of it. '_Oh, Goddess, if only she wasn't the firstborn….' _Luna's eyes began to water as she took in the image of her Queen.

Queen Athanasia Serenity, beloved Queen Serenity of Mare Serenitatis, stood silent as tears of sadness rolled down her cheeks, the letter sealing her daughter's fate in her hands. "Luna, is this right? Is this the only way? To sell her off in a false marriage to that barbarian…. Aemilianus of Macedonia…." She held the letter between her thumb and right index finger, ran the tips of her left hand over the red wax seal.

Luna remained quiet as she watched Serenity wearily. "If I break this seal…. it would be like this letter was intercepted…. and he wouldn't want her for his wife. Or perhaps…." Luna placed her hands on top of the queen's, stopping her from breaking the seal.

"Majesty, you know that this marriage is needed. Needed not only to protect the kingdom, but for Princess Serenity's well being. You know that this court is rotting from the inside out, your kingdom on the verge of collapse. If you soil this opportunity, who knows what would come of it? Perhaps the slovenly oaf would wage war on us, in retaliation to your 'insult'?"

Queen Serenity's silvery brows drew together in anguish as she pushed the letter back into Luna's waiting hands. "You're right. You're absolutely right, Luna…. But I can't bear it…. my daughter, my only child, sold to an Earthen king to save this crumbling relic of an empire…."

Luna wrapped her slender arms around the Queen in an attempt to comfort her. "My lady, my _sister_, she will survive. She will be the Queen of one of the most powerful empires of Earth. She will also be the heir to your throne, making her the most _influential_ women of the Lunar-Terran Alliance."

"But she's so young….. and foolish. "

* * *

She drew her hand slowly up the shallow swell of her abdomen, over the foreboding and foretelling bump. Mauve pooled at the bottoms of her eyes, telling of the exhaust, stress, and fear that filled her heart. Regina Selena II's shockingly blue eyes filled with hot, salty tears as she stood motionless in front of her dressing mirror, her expression stoic.

Her hair fell in pale, dank tendrils down her back and shoulders, flowed into a golden cascade down her back that found it's end at the base of her feet. Regina Selena II, or Princess Serenity as she'd been come to be known as, stared at herself. Her reflection was a sad remainder of how her life would come to an end -- in a foreign land, in a foreign marriage.

Serenity began to absent-mindedly rub her thin fingers over the small swell of her stomach, her heart overflowing with sadness. _'My baby…. My only blessing from the Goddess….' _A subtle shift in her abdomen sent a shock through her body, her eyes opening wide with surprise. It was getting harder to hide her condition as the days progressed. If her calculations where correct, she was about 3 moons along.

"Beloved of Selene…. Oh, to have such a cruel title…." Serenity scoffed at her reflection and moved to take hold of the cotton drawers from her dressing table, moving to step her tiny feet into them. Once secured around her thin hips, she drew her chemise over her head, letting it fall around her small frame in waves of light cotton.

"Cassia, help me with these laces." Serenity called out to her handmaiden, her voice slightly shrill. "Yes'um. " The girl, slightly older than her mistress, chirped in response. Cassia remained silent as she laced up Princess Serenity's corset, each tie progressively tighter than the last.

"When will you tell your mother, my lady?"

Serenity balked at Cassia's question. "Tell my mother? Are you mad? What type of ludacris question-" Another movement of the newly forming life inside her caught her off guard, leaving her breathless with excitement and fear. The princess placed her hand upon her abdomen once more. "Cassia, if my mother knew of this baby…. "

"She would comfort you. But it could never be known to it's father. It would never be a prince or a princess. Selene would abandon you as her Beloved, if you give birth to this child." Cassia spoke, the words a harsh whisper upon her lips as she finished the ties to Serenity's corset.

Fear unlike anything she'd ever felt before took hold of her heart, her eyes growing wide with terror. "Abandon me over the child? This child is Selene smiling upon me…. this child is the only gift she's ever given me. Beloved of Selene, pfft! Selene, the most Merciful, the Compassionate has blessed the peasants more than she ever has me!"

Cassia took a few steps back and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, my lady for speaking in such a way." Even if she knew her words to be true, Cassia knew her mistress would never see the light of reason, especially in such a deplorable situation. With the child, her already fogged judgement was now completely obscured by the urge to defy the Laws of Selene and give birth to the child in hopes of proclaiming to heir of two kingdoms.

"Is the father aware of his child's existence?" Cassia's words where soft as she helped Serenity step into her petticoats. The princess said nothing as she let Cassia tie her petticoats into place.

* * *

"You're going to make that Lunar whore your queen?" Her voice was a boom throughout the throne room, her husband taking on an apathetic look.

"I've given you seven children! And I'm not to be your queen?"


End file.
